EU will not cancel new sanctions against Russia

Germany announced that after official recognition of the "elections" in Donbas Russia have to forget about cancelation of sanctions.

According to the official representative of German Chancellor Steffen Seibert, Germany does not understand the official recognition of elections in DPR and LPR by the Russian Federation.

"It is absolutely unclear that Russia gives official statements about respect and even recognizes the so-called "elections", said the diplomat at a briefing.

According to him, such a behavior of the Russian side excludes the possibility of the European Union to lift economic sanctions against Russia, and in the case of situation deterioration, the measures can be tightened.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia respects the choice of the Donbas residents and expresses its willingness to continue promoting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

"Generally, the elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions took place orderly with a high turnout. We respect the will of the inhabitants of the south-east," said the statement.

The Russian diplomats note that "due to the elections held it is extremely important to take active steps to promote a dialogue between the central authorities and the representatives of the Ukrainian Donbas in line with the agreements reached in Minsk."

"We are ready to work with our international partners to continue constructively contributing to the crisis resolution in Ukraine," said the Russian Foreign Ministry.